Romney engages Gingrich: Lifelong Washington man

POLITICO's Reid Epstein sends over a dispatch on Mitt Romney's appearance with Fox News' Bret Baier, in which the host pushed the GOP hopeful on a string of issues - and also got him to make clear the lines of future engagement with Newt Gingrich.

The lines of criticism are similar to what he used on Rick Perry - career politician whose "background" contrasts with Romney, who ran Bain Capital, but also ran for U.S. Senate in 1994, and was Massachusetts governor for four years.

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"Speaker Gingrich is a good man, he and I have very different backgrounds," Romney said. "He spent his last 30 or 40 years in Washington. I spent my career in the private sector, and I think that’s what the country needs right now."

He added, "No problem with Newt Gingrich, he’s a good man, but a very different person than I am based on our life experiences."

Sounding at times a bit testy, Romney also pushed back on Gingrich's criticisms about "radical" changes in positions.

"This whole stream of thought that you began with, that you’ll say anything to be elected, if that were the case, would I still be defending Massachusetts health care?" Romney said. "It’s by far the biggest challenge I have in the primary race and if I were willing to say anything to get elected, wouldn’t I just say, ‘Oh, it was a mistake?’”

He went on, "Because I’ve watched other people on the stage, when they talk about their cap-and-trade policies, they say, ‘Oh, that was a mistake.’ When someone says, ‘Oh I did this ad on global warming, that was a mistake.’ So they just dust it aside, and that makes them more attractive in a primary. I’m standing by what I did in Massachusetts. I’m not trying to dust it aside. The biggest issue that dogs me in the primary campaign, I’m absolutely firm that it was the right thing for our state, I’ll defend that. I understand that it has political implications, and if it keeps me from winning the primary, so be it."

A lot of this is now at the crux of the race, which is increasingly seen as a two-man contest. Both Gingrich and Romney have changed positions on some issues over time, but the former House Speaker has framed his as modulations due to shifting facts.

Whether the GOP electorate perceives it that way on Gingrich - and whether they believe Romney's pushback - will be important to watch in the coming weeks.